Dorothy Day House officially suspends operations; None left in 15-bed residence [Video]

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The announcement was made on Wednesday. Thursday, most of the residents had already departed. By 3 o’clock in the afternoon this Friday, the 15 beds in the Dorothy Day house in Moorhead lay empty.

The decision to temporarily suspend operations at the residence was particularly hard on Churches United CEO Pastor Sue Koesterman, who is acutely aware of the need for housing within the community.

“As of the end of the business day on Tuesday, there were 103 men, 57 women, and 30 families that are on the shelter bed waiting list,” she said. “So we can’t afford to lose a single shelter bed, let alone 15.”

Koesterman says that Churches United has been operating at a pretty severe deficit for the past two years. Eventually, the cash flow issues simply became too much to bear.

There is optimism that the stated temporary closure …